The Rock
by HermioneGranger1960
Summary: Rey is caught bathing. In response to a submitted prompt on Tumblr.


**Hey!**

 **In response to a post on Tumblr, user jamiegallantworld submitted a prompt:**

 ** _Prompt: "I posted this on my page yesterday. Thank you taking ideas! "Kylo/Ben appears through the force bond as Rey is bathing in a hot spring. She hides behind a rock and proceeds to have a full conversation with him. It isn't until the end when he asks if she's hiding behind something…because he can't see the rock, just her….all of her…..ahhhh"_**

 **So here is a small drabble! If you're interested in submitting your own idea, drop me a message here or on Tumblr and I'll do my best!**

 **Tumblr: reylo-riffic**

 **As always, leave a review to let me know what you think!**

* * *

Rey stumbled from the Falcon with her bathing supplies hastily stuffed into her bag. She hadn't bathed in…well, she'd lost track. The roar of a waterfall drew her forward, through the thick foliage that would lend her some privacy.

Bathing was a novel event for her now. Jakku had barely enough water to drink, let alone bathe. Being submerged in water never failed to awe her. Whenever she and Chewy stopped long enough to resupply, Rey searched for a place she could leisurely spend hours until he made impatient sounds in the distance, calling her back, her skin wrinkled but clean.

They were only stopping for a moment – Chewy had some mechanical fixes to make before they reentered space – so Rey would be pressed for time. She quickly stripped and jumped into the icy water. Rey finished her ablutions as quickly as possible so she'd have time to sit on the bank and enjoy the scenery. The green planets were always her favorite – a stark contrast to the never-ending sand landscape she'd grown up with.

Standing on the bank, Rey dried herself while watching some river creatures playfully jump into the water. It was then that she felt the familiar presence behind her. She turned, just in time to see Ben – eyes wide, face flushed, and lips parted in shock and embarrassment. Rey quickly scrambled to cover herself with the towel before darting away to duck behind a rock, clutching the fabric to her body.

"What are you doing here?" she barked, her voice sounding harsher than she meant due to her mortification.

Ben cleared his throat, his voice brittle. "I don't know."

"Well, go away."

"You know I don't nor can I control what the Force does." He answered in a tone that suggested he was rolling his eyes.

"I'm busy." Rey responded pointedly, wanting to be left alone.

"Yes, and I was in the middle of a meeting." Ben snapped back.

"Planning another attack on the Resistance?" Rey accused coldly.

There was a long silence and Rey thought he had vanished. Before she could peek around the rock at him, his empty voice reached her.

"You gave me no choice."

Rey knew there was a litany of accusations in those few words. She knew because she often wondered if she'd taken his hand as he'd asked that maybe lives would be spared. Rey felt guilty for each person who fell beneath the hand of the First Order since Snoke's slaying. Perhaps if she'd agreed to join him, she could have put a stop to the insidious nature of the ever-moving army. How many friends would have been saved? How many families wouldn't have been ravaged by war?

"I couldn't, Ben. Yours is a path I can't follow. You knew that before you asked." Rey answered softly running her fingernails down the face of the rock she still hid behind, clutching the towel to her body with her free hand.

"Did you ever stop to think about what I truly offered you?" he responded with just a hint of frustration coloring his tone.

Rey's brow furrowed in confusion, but she had no response. Often she replayed those fateful moments in her mind. The words echoed constantly and images of his piercing yet haunted eyes were unrelenting, pilfering sleep from her more often than not.

"What are you hiding behind?"

Rey blinked a few times, startled by the sudden turn in conversation.

"A rock."

"Hmm. That's strange."

"What is?" Rey asked, wanting to glance around the boulder but forcing her feet to remain still.

"I don't see the rock. All I can see is you."

By the time his words filtered into her buzzing mind, he was gone. Rey let her head drop forward until her forehead rested on the chilly stone in an effort to cool her burning face.


End file.
